Arrythmia afer ablation

[dquenzer]

1.  Had an ablation at Mayo last week.
2.  Suffering short periods of AFib.
3.  Also yesterday started having lots of PAC's.  Right now having a PAC about every other beat.  Had a bit of a panic attack yesterday, and also went to a basketball game that got a bit exciting.  Could that have irritated the heart?

Normal?

[CCF-M.D.-RCJ]

dquenzer,

Thanks for the post.

We tell our afib ablation patients that as many as 1/3 patients may have increased bouts of afib during the first several months after the procedure.  We presume that this occurs from the inflammatory process initiated with the burning procedure.  However, the afib ablation procedure is only about 80-85% successful (less at less experienced centers), so unfortunately, an alternative explanation is that the procedure was not successful for you.

Any "excitement" that you may have may (or may not) trigger afib, but would be unlikely to cause long-term ill effects.

Only time will tell the success of the procedure, but keep the faith in the interim.  Make sure you report your symptoms to your doctor.

Best of luck.

[dquenzer]

Just to follow up.  Doctor said he thought he was 85% sure he got the spots.  I assume that this is coming from irritation of the heart muscle.

The biggest problem is the PAC's are really irregular.  My heart was just fine after the ablation.  Ablation was on Friday, had very few PAC's until Tuesday.  Bit discouraging, because now the PAC's are worse than ever.

Thanks for you input.

[dquenzer]

I am on 50 mg of atenolol.  I'm not really suppose to take aspirin because I am on coumadin.  I'm not sure if Advil will work the same, but I did start taking that.  I may simply take the aspirin, because somewhere I heard it does help with inflammation.

There was quite a bit of ablation done.  All four pulmonary veins, and also a spot near the AV node.  I was in the room for 8 hours.  I'm sure that part of the problem is that I simply got too excited at my daughter's basketball game.  It's regionals, and it was a close game that they won.

Doug

[arthur]

I had an ablation for PAF about 3 years ago.  It does take a while for the irritation of both the cardiac tissue (burns) and the surrounding nervous system to settle down.  In my case, I had PACs about every 6 beats for weeks (however, only one PV focus was burned, and several others were left untreated as they did not lead to PAF).  The result is that I get PACs every so often, and that's just fine with me, since I am cured of PAF.
At times these PACs can come on rather vigorously, and seem to imitate a PAF event (lasting 15-20 min)...however, they are just PACs.  In my experience, once things settle down, you should be just fine.

I am not an expert, however, is taking aspirin along with coumadin something to avoid?

-arthur

[dquenzer]

Thanks for the note.

Coumadin and aspirin are both anti-coagulants and taking both can mess  INR.

Mayo said to avoid taking both unless you get INR while taking both.

At this point I'm only having very short runs of PAF, most of it is PAC's and yes they sometimes feel like PAF.

But thanks for you encouragement.  I thought I went through the whole process for nothing.

Doug

[ngreig]

I had an ablation for an ectopic pathway back at the end of November.  About 2 weeks after the procedure, I changed my meds and started having horrible episodes of tachycardia and lots of skipped beats.  I had never noticed having skipped beats before the ablation.  From what I read here, I found out that it can take some time for the heart to settle down after ablation.  I gave it more time and I am finally off all meds with NO symptoms!  It took about 2 months for me to feel better.  I'm sure with more time, you'll feel better too!  Good luck!

[Cathy7]

Hi guys,

I had a "thoracoscopic Maze Procedure" for my paroxysmal a. fib.  This is a new procedure in which the surgeon goes thru the chest wall between the ribs and uses the 'scope and manipulates the instruments outside the chest wall to "burn" areas on the OUTSIDE of the heart, so there is "practically zero" risk of clots or stroke on the table. (I was only the fifth one done in California.)  

It's been two weeks today, and I felt soooo well up till yesterday (well, except for a coupla ER visits for surgery side effects)and my heart felt sooooo normal (with just some pounding PVC's the first few days), that I thought I was CURED!  Unfortunately, today I feel sooooo weak and feel like I'm back in a. fib.  I am very discouraged, after having felt so well several days since the surgery.

I guess this is to be expected.  Your postings have helped me put this into perspective.

My question is:  does anyone else get this overwhelming WEAKNESS with their arrhythmias?  I was having near syncopal episodes and fainted twice before the surgery, but have just had incredible WEAKNESS a coupla days since the surgery.....even if just having PVC's.  I can barely breathe or speak, I'm feeling so weak.  

Anyone else get this way?  My cardiac surgeon couldn't help.

Thanx  

[Cathy7]

Thanx for your encouraging words.  

Today is the FOURTH day in a row that my heart has behaved itself and my energy level is up.  I feel so good that I want to return to my normal activities.  I know I need to pace myself so I won't overdo it, but it's great to feel healthy again!

Regarding stats:  I was told there was a 70-90% chance this would keep me in sinus rhythm vs. the 30-60% success rate for the typical ablation procedure.  (Actually, one EP said there "might be a 60% chance that you could have 75% fewer episodes" with the old procedure!?)

Apparently there have been over 50 of these new procedures done in the rest of the U.S.  So far, I'm very pleased.  It hasn't been even three weeks post-op, and I've only had ONE day with weakness and irregular rhythm.

[NHS]

I read your posts about having had a new "maze" procedure done to correct your arrhythmias. If I understood you correctly, you had it done somewhere in California. As a Southern Californian who has been contemplating a catheter ablation for a-fib, I'm quite interested in what you have to say about this new procedure and its results.

How are you doing now? Would you mind telling me where this procedure was performed and who performed it?

Thanks

NHS

[larrystang]

Hello Dear Friends,
               Had an unsuccessfull abalation last week.   They have now put me on heavy meds for my SVT.   The doc said he was getting close to the AV Node and chances dropped to 70% in my favor with a worst case senario of a pace maker needed.   Should I get a second opinion or advice on a second attempt.   Anybody know of a electrophysiologist in the NYC/LOng Island area. Thankyou

[Kimma]

i had an ablation for AVNRT and PSVT. one of the pathways was VERY close to my AV NODE they went ahead and ablated it, even though before the procedure my doctor (she didnt do the ablation) promised if it was near the av node and they thought there was a chance of damage to it they would do it another day after recieving my consent. Now i have LOTS of PVC"S and sinus tachy and feel more miserable than i did before. doctor told me my nerve is damaged and should heal within 3 years. YEAH RIGHT...its been over a year and i feel im getting worse. im not sayin dont go through with it, just warning you about getting too close to the av node, you dont want to push them to do something that could harm you more in the end.
kim